Broken
by Kudatsuo-chan
Summary: Matsuda hadn't broken when Chief Yagami died. He hadn't broken when Yagami Sayu retreated into a silent world of her own creation. He hadn't broken when the other Task Force members railed at him for being an idiot, again and again…What happens when Matsuda is faced with something that makes his strained control shatter? No Pairings, New-Kira, Lotsa stuff! Read Please!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note, obviously.

**Warnings:** Heavy emotion, potential triggers (including suicide), character death, convoluted-ness.

**Characters:** Matsuda, Ide, Mogi, Aizawa, Yamamoto, Sayu, Sachiko, Female OC (plot device), male OC (plot device), New-Kira, Near, SPK members.

**A/N: ** See at bottom.

_Without further ado I now present **Broken: a Death Note Fanfiction.**_

* * *

Matsuda hadn't broken when Chief Yagami died. He hadn't broken when Yagami Sayu retreated into a silent world of her own creation. He hadn't broken when the other Task Force members railed at him for being an idiot, again and again…

_Again and again and again…_

He'd just squared his shoulders, forced a sheepish grin or a solemn expression on his face, depending on the situation and kept plodding on; his own personalized version of the trials of Sisyphus. He just kept pushing his boulder up the hill.

He hadn't even broken when Light, sweet, deceptive Light, the NPA's own personal Lucifer, had finally revealed himself as Kira. He'd come very close. The bonds of his sanity had stretched perilously close to actually snapping. But, as the saying goes, "bones bend before they break." If the others in the Yellow Box Warehouse hadn't forcibly stopped him from shooting Light in the head, his sanity wouldn't have just broken. It would have shattered into a hundred thousand pieces, and all the king's horses and all the king's men wouldn't have been able to put Matsuda together again.

Some days, like today he wished that, that were exactly what exactly what had happened on that day.

* * *

He and Mogi had responded to an urgent distress call about a woman jumping from the top of the Tokyo Bridge. She'd been dead as soon as she'd hit the ground, her neck snapped. Her skull shattered. Every bone in her frail body crushed. Blood staining the few strands of blond hair peeking out from under the towel, which a well-meaning bystander had draped over her face, a deep crimson. A crimson so dark that the strands looked nearly black.

St. Valentine's Day. A day for lovers, and he and Mogi were spending it stooped over a quickly cooling corpse.

Mogi gently peeled the towel away from her face and Matsuda couldn't hold back the gasp that wrenched itself from his lungs. The fall had barely damaged her beautiful face, an oddity if there ever was one. Though the once sweet, open features were contorted into a silent scream, her blue eyes were calm and accepting, as if the kiss of the concrete was the gentle caress of a lover.

Matsuda threw his hand over his mouth, barely aware of the low, keening groan escaping his throat.  
"Misa-Misa…No." He turned away, unable to keep looking at the shell of the once vivacious woman. "Mogi…I can't do this. I'm sorry."

"It's alright Matsuda-san. I'll finish up here. You take a cab back to the station. You'll need to inform the Chief and Ide, see if they can meet to discuss this…development." Mogi's calm, deep bass barely registered in Matsuda's ears as he made his way past the yellow tape and out onto the main road. He hailed a cab moving slowly, an old man suffering the debilitating effects of old age more keenly than most as he entered the cab.

Numbly he gave the cab driver an address in a dead voice, images of Misa flitting through his mind like a heartbreakingly cruel hummingbird. His fingers trembled as he pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket. He dialed the number once…twice…three times, before snarling in frustration and slamming the phone shut so hard that the screen cracked, flickered, and went black.

_Just like Misa…_

"DAMMIT!" the curse erupted from Matsuda's mouth so viciously, it made the cab driver swerve into oncoming traffic for a moment, just a moment, before correcting himself and pulling off to the side of the road. The driver glared reprovingly at Matsuda, his expression softening slightly when he saw Matsuda's expression. Matsuda's face was pale, he was shaking, and the lines around his eyes and mouth stood out in stark relief against the paleness of his skin. His hands were clenched into fists and his breath was coming in quick, short pants.

"Sir. Is there someone I can call for you? You don't look so good." The driver's voice was low and soft. Matsuda took several deep, albeit shaky, breaths and forced his fists to unclench.

"N-No. Just take me to the Police Station please. I'm very sorry for my outburst." Matsuda's voice was surprisingly calm, given the strength of his emotions, just moments before. He closed his eyes, leaned back against the headrest, and said softly, "please." The taxi driver put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. As Matsuda felt the car lurch into gear, he opened his eyes and stared blankly out the window at the city as it rushed by. Things that would normally have sent Matsuda into an indignant impotent rage, such as the small group of people picketing the police station with pro-Kira signs, barely had an effect on him now. The cab slowed down and parked across the street from the police station. Matsuda paid the cab driver and pushed open the door. He clambered out of the cab and forced a neutral expression on his face as he walked toward the front door. The pro-Kira demonstrators were chanting obscenities at him and one of them jumped forward at him. Matsuda gave the man a death glare and hurried towards the door. He opened the door with a vicious tug and slammed the door shut behind him. Matsuda stalked over to his desk, dropped his files and cell phone in front of his computer and slunk out of the main office area and into the employee bathroom.

He glared at his reflection in the mirror, that gaunt and quivering thing. He shook his head and turned the cold water tap on full blast. He splashed the water onto his face and leaned heavily against the wall.

* * *

Time passed…he wasn't sure how much, when the bathroom door swung inwards. Instantly Matsuda straightened up, trying to hide how close he was to falling apart. Ide entered the bathroom, gave Matsuda a quiet nod and proceeded to use the facilities. Matsuda cleared his throat as his friend washed his hands.

"Is-Is Aizawa in his office, d'you know?" His voice was only slightly thicker than was usual. A brief shadow of confusion crossed Ide's face as he nodded.

"At least he was five minutes ago. Why? What's up?" Matsuda gave a shaky grin.

"I only want to explain this once, so you and I need to go talk to him, in private." Matsuda felt a faint swelling of pride that he was able to say that so calmly and unemotionally. Ide's look of confusion changed to one wary trepidation.

"Alright, Matsuda let's go."

Matsuda felt his eyebrows pull together in slight amazement; apparently all it took to get your coworkers to take you seriously was to channel your inner Near.

"Good to know." He murmured under his breath.

He followed Ide, just a few paces behind, looking for all the world like a puppy dog following its owner. The sounds of the office seemed muffled and far away, a relief really. The constant sensory overload that Matsuda had been subjected to since they had first seen Misa's corpse, had been wearing his nerves down to the roots. He was wound as tightly as a coiled spring, his expression watchful and tense. They stopped in front of Aizawa's office door, waiting silently while Aizawa finished up his call. Aizawa waved them in and motioned for them to sit. Matsuda stared at his hands, willing the bile trying to force its way up his throat back down.

"What do you need Ide…Matsuda?" After a few beats of awkward silence, Ide cleared his throat and said,

"Matsuda said he and Mogi had something important they needed to tell us." Matsuda jumped up and closed the door. Aizawa had started at Matsuda's abrupt flurry of movement, nearly sending his coffee cup into his lap. Matsuda remained standing and tensed as he began speaking.

"Mogi and I went out in response to a woman jumping off the Tokyo Bridge. When we got there, we found out that the woman was Amane Misa." Matsuda paused for a moment, pressing his lips together and a slight hiss escaped from Aizawa. Matsuda opened his mouth to speak again, when another voice interrupted him.

"And clutched in her hand was this." A deep voice sounded from behind Matsuda, making him flinch in surprise. Mogi stepped forward and slid an evidence bag forward onto Aizawa's desk. Inside the bag was a single sheet of paper; a heavy sort of paper, sort of like vellum, a type of paper, which was horribly familiar to anyone who had been involved with the Kira Task Force. Aizawa reached forward, his hand shaking slightly, and delicately lifted the evidence bag between two fingers, his movements eerily reminiscent of Ryuzaki's trademark gestures. He read out the words on the paper quietly, disbelievingly.

"Amane Misa. Suicide. 14/2/2011. 13:49:28. Climbs to the top of the South Tower of the Tokyo Bridge. Falls to her death after 47.2 seconds. In her apartment she leaves a note confessing to the worst crimes she has ever committed. She then leaves her most important notebook sitting on her desk next to the note. She then leaves the apartment, without locking it." The room was dead silent for several seconds, as the men stared at each other uncomprehendingly.

"T-this can't be real can it?" Matsuda croaked. "I mean, I thought Near confiscated **all **the Death Notes." Aizawa closed his eyes, his expression tense.

"Did you go to her apartment to look for the notebook?" Mogi nodded silently.

"There wasn't anything there. That new kid Yamamoto and I went there after Matsuda and I investigated the scene and I sent Matsuda back to apprise you of the situation." Aizawa sighed heavily.

"Then I suppose the next step is to call Near and let him know of the situation. The rest of you can go home. I'll take the note down to Forensics to get analyzed and call you as soon as I know more." The men moved slowly as if waking from a dream as they looked at the door.

* * *

Matsuda was the first person out of the office. He made his way over to his desk and sagged into the chair, his entire body collapsing. He buried his face in his hands, cursing silently. His hands clenched into fists and he punched the table hard, leaving a slight dent in the surface of the polished wood. With great effort he made his fists relax and rest gently on the surface of the desk. He stared at his hands, his eyes burning holes into the desk, hating himself for the slight tremor that was affecting his hands. He took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. After he had gained more control over himself he looked up. Never in his whole life had he been so grateful that he had requested that his desk was moved after Light was killed. His desk was in a dark, shadowy corner, tucked away from everyone else's desk. No one had been near enough to witness his outburst, not even the other members of the Task Force. He let out a slight wheezing sigh, as he saw Mogi and Ide moving in the direction of his desk. He tried to force one of his typical expressions onto his face, and found that he couldn't.

_He couldn't smile. _

_He was just too tired. _

That thought struck him as oddly funny and he started shaking in silent laughter. He laughed until tears were actually streaming down his face and he coughed. He felt a strong hand gripping his shoulder, pulling him out of his chair and leading him down the hallway.

"Calm down Matsuda!" Ide hissed, as Matsuda continued laughing silently. Matsuda struggled to regain control over himself. Finally his laughter subsided and he looked up at the two men who were staring at him with obvious concern. He panted as he tried to make himself meet their worried gazes.

"I-I'm sorry…I'm fine now." He muttered this softly, feeling shame flood him. Ide's expression plainly showed how much he believed Matsuda. Mogi's expression was carefully blank. Matsuda's eyes flickered up to meet each of their gazes, before flitting away to rest on a fixed point at the wall behind them.

"Okay then. Matsuda, Mogi and I were just discussing the case and we were going to go back to my place and see if we can figure out any plausible leads. Do you want to come?" Matsuda shook his head once, before saying in a surprisingly steady voice.

"I can't. It's Monday, I always go to see Sayu on Monday and Thursday afternoons." He avoided their disbelieving stares, before continuing, "She's starting to show real progress. She actually reacted when I showed up with her mother last week."

* * *

He was lying of course…Sayu hadn't made any progress, beyond showing a miniscule reaction when she was informed of Light's death. The nurses had told him months ago that there was probably no chance of Sayu ever becoming normal again. Nurse Sakura had told him, in confidence, because she wanted to know if he had any idea of how to break the news to Sachiko. He hadn't of course. Had no idea how to soften the blow for Yagami Sachiko that she would probably be alone for the rest of her life, that her perfect family was destroyed, probably forever. He sighed and faked a smile at them. "Besides I promised Sayu I'd bring her some mochi the next time I visited. If I have time after I'll stop by your place Ide." Ide looked like he wanted to protest, but Mogi's hand on his shoulder stopped him from voicing his complaint. With a silent nod to Ide and Mogi, Matsuda turned and strode away, walking with a new purpose.

* * *

Matsuda pulled his car into his usual parking space, at the group home where Yagami Sayu had spent the last year and a half, living in total silence. He turned the key into the off position and slipped his car keys into his pocket. He grabbed the bakery box before he exited the car and walked up the paved pathway to the entrance of the pretty house. He signed in at the nurse's station, wrinkling his nose at the medicinal smell of the building, which was belied by its outside appearance. He made his way down the hallway, before a woman calling his name in a cautious voice, made him pause. He turned to greet Nurse Sakura, but the words were caught in his throat, as her facial expression registered. She looked both serious and excited at the same time, with a whole lot of tension interspersed in her other expressions. His expression turned to alarm.

"Did something happen?" he barely refrained from grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "Is Yagami-chan okay?" The nurse's black eyes fairly glowed with delight.

"She woke up last night. She's been talking to her mother all morning!" A grin burst onto Matsuda's face. "Himura-sensei will be down to examine her in a few minutes." Her expression grew more serious. "You have to be very careful about what you say to her. She doesn't seem to remember much of anything after the year she graduated from high school. If you say something indiscreet you might cause her to relapse. Just let her direct the conversation. This is the most important thing though, don't mention anything about her father and brother, the shock might cause her to fall back into her catatonic state." The grin that had been fixed on Matsuda's face slipped off of it. Matsuda closed his eyes, the tension rolling off him in waves.

"Yes. I understand." He sucked in a deep breath and walked down the hallway. He reached Sayu's door and paused as he heard a light musical giggle mingling with the lower tones of Sachiko. He knocked on the doorframe.

"Excuse me?" He peeked around the corner. He sucked in a breath at Sayu's appearance. Her brown eyes sparkled with lively energy and she was sitting upright, holding her mother's hand in her lap.

"Matsuda-kun, come in!" Sachiko's voice sounded ten years younger and more carefree than he'd heard it in years. He smiled quietly as he entered the room.

"I brought you two some fresh mochi cakes." He set the box on Sayu's bedside table and bowed politely. He looked at Sayu's face more carefully, taking in all the details. She'd lost weight, looked paler than normal, and her hair was limp, but she still looked healthier than he'd seen her look in years. "You look much better Yagami-chan." Sayu wrinkled her nose as she looked carefully at Matsuda's face.

"Mom?" She said softly leaning into her mother's shoulder. "Why does Matsuda-san look so old?" Matsuda controlled the flinch that wanted to make its way onto his face at her harsh words. Sachiko looked vaguely uncomfortable for an instant, before laughing gently and saying in a teasing tone.

"He's just been working hard. I think he needs to get more rest!" Matsuda nodded and laughed awkwardly.

"…Yes. I've been working hard recently." A firm knock sounded at the door, and all three turned to look at the door. Standing in the doorway was Nurse Sakura, and standing behind her was Doctor Himura. Matsuda recognized the man from several of his past visits.

"Unfortunately visiting hours are over now Matsuda-san." Matsuda nodded and bowed to Sayu and Sachiko again.

"It was wonderful to see you again. I'll visit again on Thursday afternoon. Would either of you like me to bring you anything when I visit again?" Sayu pursed her lips as she thought.

"Can you bring Misa and Light with you, when you visit again?" Matsuda's smile remained frozen on his face as he turned to look back at Sayu.

"…maybe…" Matsuda turned away before Sayu could see the tears burning in his eyes. He left the room in a hurry, almost running down the hall. He almost made it to the door, before he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He whipped around and saw Sachiko's burning eyes.

"Can you explain the situation to Misa and ask if she can come down and see Sayu." Her voice was soft and pleading. Matsuda gave one short jerk of his head.

"I can't." Her expression grew angry as he refused to look her in the eyes.

"Why not!" He was silent for a moment, then spoke quickly as if that would minimize the amount of damage his words would cause.

"Amane Misa is dead. She committed suicide earlier today."

SLAP! A loud crack issued as Sachiko's hand met Matsuda's cheek. His head jerked around from the force of the slap. He reached up and touched his cheek, wincing at the weal that was already forming. He reluctantly met her hard gaze. She snapped furiously in a low voice.

"Don't come back. Don't come near my daughter again. You bring nothing but death with you. You brought my husband's death to me. You brought my son's death to me. Now you've even brought my son's fiancée's death to me." She hissed venomously, her voice shaking. "Ju-just stay away from me and stay away from my daughter!" She turned on her heel and stalked down the hallway back to her daughter's room, leaving Matsuda holding his cheek and staring bleakly at her retreating form. He bit the inside of his cheek hard, trying to distract himself from the hot tears burning in his eyes.

Matsuda stayed staring for several seconds, before turning away and fleeing the building as if the flames of hell were licking at his feet. Matsuda kept running until he got to his car, he pulled open the door and slammed it shut behind him.

* * *

Author's Note: My god, I am just horrible to Matsuda aren't I. In another fic I have him being suicidal, in this one I just keep heaping on torment after torment...oh well! I'm just a bit twisted.

I get Sachiko is a little harsh, but in this universe Matsuda has informed her about all of these deaths. She doesn't really blame him, but she can't help but feel like it partially his fault. She is also acting out of anger and grief, and many people, when they are grieving, say things, which they later regret.

If you liked it and would like to see what else will happen please review. I find reviews do make me write both faster and better. I like con-crit and quite dislike flames. Please hit the purple button just below!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Simply put. I don't own Death Note.  
**Warnings: **If Chapter 1 didn't scare you off, I doubt that anything in this chapter will scare you off. There is a bit of gross, or inappropriate humor, but nothing too bad.

**Now Playing:** Chapter 2 of _Broken: a Death Note fanfiction_

* * *

**Last Time in **_**Broken:  
**__Matsuda stayed staring for several seconds, before turning away and fleeing the building as if the flames of hell were licking at his feet. Matsuda kept running until he got to his car, he pulled open the door and slammed it shut behind him._

* * *

The sun was low in the sky and the sky was glowing a brilliantly fluorescent shade of orange-pink when Matsuda finally stirred. He had stayed sitting in stony silence for nearly forty-five minutes, his car keys clenched tightly in his fist. Staring blankly at car's dashboard, the only sign that he still lived was the slight rise and fall of his chest. He gave no reaction as people exited the building in droves, some laughing, some in tears, some just bored as if their weekly visits to the facility were nothing to them but duty.

_Which was probably fairly accurate._ His eyes burned and he blinked furiously, willing the tears, which he had no right to be shedding, back down.

_No right at all._ He bit the inside of his cheek hard, till his warm coppery blood was trickling down the back of his throat. The shrill ringing of his new cell phone jerked him out of his stupor. He clumsily pulled it off of his belt and opened it. He didn't recognize the phone number, although that wasn't saying much, since he hadn't put his old contacts back in his phone. He opened his phone on the fourth ring.

"H-Hello?" Matsuda's voice was fairly breathless as he answered the phone.

"Matsuda-san?" On the other end of the line was a loud, distorted voice; very similar to the one Matsuda had heard when he and the Task Force were investigating the second Kira. Fingers trembling, Matsuda hit the recording feature on his cell. The voice paused for a moment before continuing on in an unconcerned manner. "Matsuda Touta, detective of the Tokyo Police force and former member of the Kira Task Force?" Matsuda's stunned silence filled the empty space. The voice on the other end chuckled darkly. "From your silence I can only assume you received my…shall we say _message_ in the form of one Amane Misa." Matsuda's eyes grew round as the voice continued to mock him. "You can call me Z-Kira. I just thought I'd call and announce myself, as well as ask you to pass along a message to Director Aizawa,"

"W-what?" Matsuda's voice trembled as Z-Kira laughed at him again.

"Merely this Matsuda-san, I know your names. I know your faces. All of you...but…I'm bored for lack of a better word, and will allow you to investigate me when I continue on the original Kira's noble work. It'll be a race," he said brightly, "you see, to find out which of us is better…just so you know I'm absolutely not a crank caller, Mr. R told me to tell you that I know that _you_ know _how much_ shinigami love apples. Oh, and one last thing Matsuda-san…" Matsuda felt as if he'd forgotten how to breathe in the last five minutes. He sucked in a shaky breath as he answered the voice.

"Yes, Z-Kira?"

"Since you've been recording me this whole time, I expect you to give the tape in whole to Chief Aizawa." There was nothing but dead silence as Matsuda mouthed swear words silently into the phone. "Have a pleasant day Matsuda-san."

"…you-you as well." Matsuda said faintly. Z-Kira chuckled, his tone of voice sounding absolutely delighted, even through the distortion of the machinery disguising his voice.

"I'm so glad you have such excellent manners Matsuda-san, we'll have such fun together!" With a little click the line went dead.

* * *

Matsuda expelled the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and sagged back against the headrest of the car seat. After several minutes had passed Matsuda pulled his phone out of his pocket, and dialed Ide's phone number. After several rings Ide picked up the phone, his tone gruff and annoyed.

"Yeah, Matsuda what is it?" Matsuda mouth moved trying to form the words, his voice not working. Ide's tone got snappish.

"Matsuda! Did you call for a reason, or are you just wasting mine and Mogi's time?" Matsuda finally worked a choking sound out of his throat and then the words came pouring out uncontrolled like a flood.

"Ide. Ide. He called me Ide. Ide. Called me. Ide. The new Kira fucking CALLED me!" His voice though it had started out softly, broke into a strangled yell at the end of the sentence.

"What!" Ide's voice was barely a gasp and Matsuda got the impression from his tone that he had the phone in a death stare.

"Listen…are you and Mogi still at your place?" Ide's voice was cautious, when he answered.

"Yes. Are you on your way?" Matsuda nodded. "You know I can't hear you nod Matsuda." Matsuda glared at the phone.

"But you knew what I was doing." Matsuda's response was sulky, and he was grinding his teeth in irritation.

"Shut up Matsuda. Let yourself in when you get here. Bye." Matsuda closed the phone without answering. He muttered under his breath as he put the car in drive,

"I really hate that smug asshole sometimes."

* * *

After about twenty-five minutes of navigating heavy traffic and idiot pedestrians Matsuda pulled in front of Ide's apartment complex. He had barely gotten the car into park before he had twisted the key in the ignition into the off position and pulled it out. He leapt out of the car and hurried to the door, keeping his face down, more out of habit than anything else. He'd gotten into the habit when they first started working the Kira case and found it to be a difficult habit to break.

_Though it didn't seem like it would be much use now..._

Matsuda pulled Ide's spare key out of his pocket and let himself into the building. He silently counted the room numbers, just like he always did as he wandered down the hallway. He stopped at room number 404, looked at it, shuddered, fitted the door key into the lock and knocked to let the two men know he was coming in.

"Ide, Mogi, I'm here. He stopped in his tracks at the cold, vaguely mistrustful expressions on the two men's faces. His expression grew tense, and he looked at the two of them suspiciously.

"Wha-what's going on here guys?" He moved forward to look at the notes sitting on the coffee table, stopping when Mogi stepped in front of him with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Ide glared at him.

"You haven't been acting right all day, you blew us off after work, even though you know how dangerous this case is, and then you call me up out of the blue with a frankly ridiculous story about how the new Kira called you up for a little chat? Matsuda, you have to realize how suspicious all this sounds." Matsuda's face registered a little bit of hurt as he stared at his friends. He closed his eyes in aggravation and said through clenched teeth.

"Is there anything I can do to get you to trust me again?" Mogi avoided his gaze as Ide spoke.

"If you voluntarily submit to a total body search and hand over your weapons during this time." Matsuda sighed in frustration and glared at the two of them.

"And if I don't?" His tone matched Ide's for iciness.

"You're well within your rights to do so. Then we'll just have to ask you to leave…" the additional _and you'll most likely be high up on the list of suspects for the new Kira_ was left unspoken. Matsuda forced a polite smile on his face, which looked a fair bit like a grimace, and silently nodded his acquiescence.

"Fine." He took off his jacket and gun belt, as well as his watch and handed them over to Mogi. He then emptied out his pockets onto the side table and said with a snarl. "Anything else?" Ide blushed red as he nodded uncomfortably.

"Total body search Matsuda, you know what that means." Matsuda nodded shortly.

"Yes. Ide I do, but I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this." At their slightly confused looks, he added. "Can we at least do this in the bathroom, this is embarrassing enough without having to do it in your living room." At Ide's uncomfortable looking nod, he led the way into the bathroom. It was there in the small apartment's bathroom Matsuda stripped down and glowered at the wall as Ide performed a thorough strip search.

* * *

Finally it was over and Ide stood back saying awkwardly,

"I am sorry Matsuda, but you have to understand our concerns." Matsuda gathered the last vestiges of his pride, which was hanging around him in tatters, and nodded wearily.

"I do understand Ide." Matsuda's tone was calm. "Can I get dressed now?" Ide nodded and Matsuda turned around and dressed as quickly as was humanly possible. The three men exited the bathroom to the curious stare of Ide's pet cat Tsuguru. The cat regarded them with the kind of contemptuous gaze that only a cat can, before turning away and wandering down the hallway. They returned to the living room and sat down around the table. Matsuda looked at the two of them cautiously out of the corner of his eyes and said,

"So what have you two figured out yet?" At the same time Ide said,

"You said Kira called you?" Matsuda looked at Ide, noting with a small amount of humor that Ide refused to meet his gaze. He rolled his eyes at his coworker's embarrassment. He decided to tease his naïve coworker just a little bit, to make things normal again.

"You know Ide," he said with a wry grin. "If you wanted to see me naked all you had to do was ask." His smirk grew wider as Ide turned beet red and started sputtering wildly. "Just kidding Ide. Yes, someone claiming to be Kira called me." Mogi interrupted Ide's noisy bluster with a quiet question.

"Can you tell us what they said?" Matsuda turned to regard Mogi with serious eyes. He shook his head 'no.' At their disappointed looks, he said brightly.

"Better! I can show you. I recorded the call as soon as I heard a synthetic voice on the other line." With that he grabbed the cell phone and opened up the call record app and played the call for them. Matsuda leaned forward, trying to listen to the call with new ears.

* * *

"_Matsuda Touta, detective of the Tokyo Police force and former member of the Kira Task Force?" dark chuckle_

"_From your silence I can only assume you received my…shall we say message in the form of one Amane Misa. You can call me Z-Kira. I just thought I'd call and announce myself, as well as ask you to pass along a message to Director Aizawa,"_

_"W-what?" Z-Kira laughs again._

"_Merely this Matsuda-san, I know your names. I know your faces. All of you...but…I'm bored for lack of a better word, and will allow you to investigate me when I continue on the original Kira's noble work. It'll be a race, you see, to find out which of us is better…just so you know I'm absolutely not a crank caller, Mr. R told me to tell you that I know that __**you**__ know __**how much**__ shinigami love apples. Oh, and one last thing Matsuda-san…"_

_"Yes, Z-Kira?"_

_ "Since you've been recording me this whole time, I expect you to give the tape in whole to Director Aizawa." Dead silence._

"_Have a pleasant day Matsuda-san." _

_ "…you-you as well." Z-Kira laughs harder._

_ "I'm so glad you have such excellent manners Matsuda-san, we'll have such fun together!" Click._

* * *

The stunned silence that followed was not unlike the silence that fills a tomb. The silence was broken by Ide's disbelieving voice.

"Did you _really_ wish Kira a pleasant day? _Really_?" Matsuda blushed red as he glared at Ide.

"It was all I could think of to say! Besides it seemed to make him happy and the happier he is the less likely he is to kill us, or did you forget the part where he said he knows who we all are?" The two men rose to their feet and were glaring at each other rather viciously. Mogi's deep bass interjecting broke their staring match,

"Personally I think Matsuda handled that well. When Z-Kira contacts him again he'll have to do his best to handle it in much the same manner."

"When he calls again? Mogi do you think Z-Kira will call again?" Matsuda's voice was anxious and he regarded Mogi with worried brown eyes. Mogi looked at Matsuda solemnly, before answering.

"Probably. He might also contact you in some other way, so you should be prepared for that. But more importantly Matsuda, did you let Aizawa know about this?" At Matsuda's ashamed shake of his head in the negative Mogi rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "It's okay Matsuda I'll call him, and try to catch him before he goes home tonight, see if he can stop here and listen to the recording."

* * *

Mogi left the apartment, closing the door gently behind him. As he left Matsuda flopped back against the couch and looked at Ide.

"Hey Ide, you got any beer?" Ide looked up over the file he was reading.

"Huh? Oh yeah, in the fridge." He motioned with the file to the kitchen. Matsuda hopped off the couch and walked to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out one of Ide's imported German beers, he called out,

"You want one Ide?" Matsuda took Ide's grunt as confirmation and grabbed a beer for Ide as well. As he re-entered the room, the entry door opened and Mogi came back inside the apartment.

"Aizawa will be here in a while." Each of them took up their places and grabbed a file to review, while they waited. The men settled in for what looked likely to be a very long and tedious evening.

* * *

In less than half an hour Mogi's cell phone rang and he glanced at it for just a moment before quickly leaving the apartment to let Aizawa into the building. As soon as Mogi had abandoned his seat Tsuguru hopped up onto Mogi's seat and curled up into a ball, laying half on top of the file that Mogi had abandoned. The cat let out a plaintive mew, pulling both Matsuda and Ide's attention away from the files they were reading and onto the little grey striped cat. Matsuda looked over at the cat and tried to shoo him off of the file. The cat merely hissed at him and swiped at him with his paw.

"You know Ide, your cat is really too big for his boots." Ide rolled his eyes at such a typical Matsuda response and then snickered silently as the cat stood up, walked over to Matsuda's outstretched hand and promptly laid back down, still half on the file folder. "Shut up Ide." He pulled his hand away from the cat and mock glared at Ide. There was a gentle knock at the door and a second later the door swung inwards.

First Mogi re-entered the apartment, Yamamoto was following him, and Aizawa was bringing up the rear. Held in Aizawa's hands was a small paper envelope. Wordlessly Aizawa held the package out to Matsuda. He cleared his throat and said quietly.

"This was delivered to the station as I was leaving. I dusted it for prints myself, and we'll hand it in to forensics when we go in tomorrow morning. It's addressed to you." Matsuda paled as Aizawa continued. "The man who delivered it was a wanted criminal who, after he handed over the package, had a heart attack and died." Matsuda's hand was shaking as he put on gloves and reached forward grasping the envelope gently. His fingers trembled harder as he opened the envelope and a piece of cheap yellow notebook paper. His eyes widened as he started reading the letter.

* * *

_Matsuda-san:_

_Thank you for being so polite on the phone this afternoon. I do hope you've given Aizawa-san my message or this letter will come as quite a shock to him, and at his age he shouldn't have too many surprises. The man who delivered this letter was a vicious criminal who deserved my judgment so you needn't worry about my being a petty killer like Miss Amane. As he was a wanted criminal and you all were aware of his crimes it shouldn't take you too long to confirm what I say here._

_Now you may be asking by now, why did I choose **you**, an unimpressive police detective to be my contact during this game? The answer my dear Matsuda-san is quite simple. You aren't nearly as thick as you pretend to be. You play the fool, the court jester, but you aren't nearly as much of an idiot as you act. I can see it. You might be impetuous, in fact you act too quickly and don't think your actions through often enough, but the fact is, you are a match for me. You are a worthy opponent to play the game that I have in mind, especially with your teammates supporting you. _

_Mr. R tells me I'm wrong, but I'm certain I'm right. Don't disappoint me Matsuda-san._

_Let the games begin!_

_Z-Kira_

_P.S. Enclosed is a list. It contains all of the judgments I will pass within the next week. Nothing can change their fates, but there is a clue in here that could lead you to discover my identity. I will write you next week. Good luck!_

* * *

Matsuda's face was red by the time he finished reading the letter. He handed the letter back to Aizawa and refused to meet anyone's curious gaze.

* * *

(A/N): And the plot emerges! Thank you for reading another chapter in Broken. I'd very much like to thank all of my reviewers, favoriters, and alerters, as well as invite my new readers to review. Reviews filled with constructive criticisms are very helpful to me as a writer. Thank you for treating me kindly and see you next time!

Explanations: I do believe Matsuda isn't as much of an idiot as he was portrayed as being in the manga or the anime. He was a detective after all _and _he was helpful to Light and L during the Yotsuba arc. I do believe I am valid in this belief. And yes Z-Kira is a bit of an asshole, and potentially not all that stable, but really when the most stable Kira was Misa...well you get my point.

Their belief that Z-Kira is male: The people who've had the title of Kira have statistically been male. There have been a total of four/five Kira's depending on your perspective. My perspective is that the Kiras (people who deserved the title) were:

_Yagami Light_

_Amane Misa_

_Higuchi_

_Mikami_

_Takada (debatable)_

Anyway, enough rambling, I'll update as soon as I can.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Not gonna lie folks. I wrote and rewrote this chapter many times. I'm still not ecstatically pleased with it. I had massive writer's block and…forget all the lame excuses. This chapter was difficult to write. It took longer than I had expected. End of story.

Hopefully the next one isn't so difficult.

**Disclaimer:** The Death Note franchise belongs to Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata, Viz Media and any other parties I have forgotten to mention. I make no profit from the telling of this story or use of the characters. K thanks.

**Previously on Broken: a Death Note fanfiction**

* * *

_Matsuda-san:_

_Thank you for being so polite on the phone this afternoon. I do hope you've given Aizawa-san my message or this letter will come as quite a shock to him, and at his age he shouldn't have too many surprises. The man who delivered this letter was a vicious criminal who deserved my judgment so you needn't worry about my being a petty killer like Miss Amane. As he was a wanted criminal and you all were aware of his crimes it shouldn't take you too long to confirm what I say here._

_Now you may be asking by now, why did I choose __**you**__, an unimpressive police detective to be my contact during this game? The answer my dear Matsuda-san is quite simple. You aren't nearly as thick as you pretend to be. You play the fool, the court jester, but you aren't nearly as much of an idiot as you act. I can see it. You might be impetuous, in fact you act too quickly and don't think your actions through often enough, but the fact is, you are a match for me. You are a worthy opponent to play the game that I have in mind, especially with your teammates supporting you. _

_Mr. R tells me I'm wrong, but I'm certain I'm right. Don't disappoint me Matsuda-san._

_Let the games begin!_

_Z-Kira_

_P.S. Enclosed is a list. It contains all of the judgments I will pass within the next week. Nothing can change their fates, but there is a clue in here that could lead you to discover my identity. I will write you next week. Good luck!_

Matsuda's face was red by the time he finished reading the letter. He handed the letter back to Aizawa and refused to meet anyone's curious gaze.

* * *

**Now on with the plot: **Chapter 3 of Broken: a Death Note fanfiction

* * *

The silence was deafening as the four men stared at Matsuda. Matsuda had his gaze firmly fixed on a small potted ficus that Ide had growing in the corner of his apartment. Though he refused to look at any of them, he could still feel the heavy weight of their stares. The only sound to break the silence was the rustling of the paper as each man read it in turn. After several minutes of the unsettling quiet Matsuda finally exploded. He threw his hands up in the air, snarling furiously.

"This is ridiculous Aizawa! We're not really going to play this so-called _game_ with this Kira, are we?" Matsuda's gaze was fierce as he glared at the paper Aizawa was holding. Aizawa looked awkwardly at Matsuda, his expression decidedly uncomfortable, he fiddled with his tie while searching for an appropriate answer.

"Of course we're going to try and catch him!" Yamamoto burst out earnestly, his eyes glittering with suppressed excitement. "He's a killer. We're the police. Ergo we have to try to capture him!" Matsuda's head snapped back to stare at the young detective incredulously.

"Who actually uses the word _ergo_ in casual conversation?" Matsuda's eyes widened further as Yamamoto blushed and glared at the floor as he stumbled over his retort.

"It's a word!" Yamamoto snapped out defensively.

The oddness of the conversation succeeded in breaking the tension that had slowly been building in the room ever since Aizawa and Yamamoto had entered. First Ide, then Yamamoto, Aizawa, and Matsuda all burst into awkward tense laughter; even Mogi cracked a small smile at the idiocy of their argument. Finally as the unexpected mirth faded out, seriousness stole back over their features. Aizawa sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes as if he were warding off a bright light.

"Yamamoto's right." Aizawa's voice rang with the strength of his conviction. "We have to catch this new Kira, it has to do with our pride as police officers. We can't allow any Kira to win!"

"Besides, we're probably the only people alive besides Near and the SPK who have any real chance in going up against Kira." Mogi said quietly. "Plus if we don't at least try to 'play his game' he'll probably kill us for being obstinate. The only way for us to survive is to try to capture Z-Kira"

"I'm not going to insist that anyone risk their lives by going after this new Kira." Aizawa started his speech off with the same quiet intensity that Mogi usually had. "At the beginning of this case Chief Yagami gave us all an option to walk away to protect our lives. As much as I may have disliked Ryuzaki, he respected our freedom to leave this case. I'm going to offer the same chance to all of you here and now. Anyone who wants to leave can do so. We won't hold it against you, but I for one am going to see this case through to its resolution!" Ide cleared his throat when Aizawa was done speaking.

"Everything and everyone dies. I am not going to let this case stop me from doing my job."

"Me too." Mogi's voice was clear and strong.

"I'm in! We'll destroy this new Kira!" Yamamoto's tone was cheerful and full of optimism. Matsuda's smile turned grim and his eyes were hard when he finally spoke.

"I thought this was finally over. I thought we were finally safe from these stupid Death Notes. These stupid shinigami! God this is ridiculous! How can this keep happening?" Aizawa regarded Matsuda with clear eyes, though when he spoke his tone was slightly regretful.

"Okay Matsuda. We accept your decision and I'll assign you to a different case in the morning." Matsuda looked at Aizawa like he was crazy.

"What are you talking about Aizawa?" He scoffed derisively. "I won't let you guys finish this alone. I'm going to help finish this case. Once and for all!" Matsuda's voice grew in strength, and as he finished his statement his voice rang with the strength of his resolve. The effect was slightly ruined as Tsuguru the cat gave a tiny little mew to punctuate Matsuda's statement.

* * *

Unseen by all of them, perched on the windowsill was a figure clothed in black leather. His wide mouth stretched into an eerie parody of a smile and he chuckled.

"Hyuk hyuk hyuk. This will be interesting…won't it?" With that, he spread his wings and pushed off the balcony and soared away into the night sky.

* * *

The shinigami stretched his leathery bat like wings and glided soundlessly across the familiar cityscape. The wind whispered over his wings, and the air was frigid, though it had little effect on him. He banked a hard left at a low brick wall and turned down a small side street. He gracefully glided past several well-kept houses and landed with a gentle 'thud' sound on an open windowsill. His yellow eyes gleamed and he chortled with glee as his gaze settle upon what he was looking for. Sitting on an immaculately kept desk was a juicy red apple, which had obviously been laid out for him. He clambered into the room. With a sigh of contentment he grabbed the apple and threw himself on the bed and began munching away on the apple.

"Juicy…delicious…soo good!" he moaned in orgasmic ecstasy in between bites, while writhing on the bed, making the whole picture seem incredibly obscene.

* * *

The door burst inwards just as he finished his last bite. Two figures entered the room. One was obviously a shinigami. He was long and stretched out looking with thin bony appendages covered in a leathery hide. He had oversized glowing red eyes set in a gaunt, though otherwise human-like face. His mouth was sewn shut with thick black sutures and his lips were stretched into a bloodless perma-smile. Covering his head were thick auburn colored feathers, falling over his forehead like bangs. He wore a pair of shackles but was otherwise naked except for a pair of thin tan colored pants that stopped about halfway down his legs, exposing the stretched out calves and sinewy bare feet. The shinigami turned and exposed a stunted pair of black wings, which were patchily covered in grimy, mangy-looking feathers. As the shinigami moved the feathers' that were covering his wings ruffled in the light breeze flitting in from the window, exposing sharp boney shards at the tips and joints of his wings. The overall effect was quite horrifying, an image from most people's nightmares.

Behind him stood a young man who scowled at Ryuk, his slightly mad-looking pale grey eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Were you eating on my bed Ryuk?" he inquired in a calm, pleasant voice, his tone totally at odds with his facial expression. Ryuk looked vaguely uncomfortable for a second before turning to the other shinigami, his expression shifting back to amusement.

"You and his_** majesty**_ have a good day then buddy? Hyuk hyuk hyuk" His laughter only intensified as the other shinigami's eyes narrowed, clearly spelling out how unamused he was at Ryuk's antics. The young man's scowl deepened and he threw his bag onto the bed. The bag tipped over, and he smirked with some satisfaction as one of the books passed through Ryuk's head. The man flounced over to his desk, yanked out the chair and sank into it, and said in an airy tone of voice,

"I know it's pointless and doesn't hurt you but I can't help but enjoy watching a book smash through your face Ryuk." He turned on his computer, waiting patiently as the start-up sound chimed. After a few moments his login screen was active and he typed in his password. After several minutes of silent typing, he cocked his head to the side and looked at Ryuk curiously. "Did you do as I asked Ryuk? Did they receive my messages? Is Matsuda-san willing to play?" His tone was light and playful, the cadence just as disturbing as it had been when he spoke on the phone to Matsuda earlier. He shook his curly blonde hair out of his eyes, while he stared at Ryuk awaiting an answer. He arched an eyebrow inquisitively at Ryuk, as the shinigami began to speak.

"Did you get what I asked you to?" Ryuk's expression showed glee and the other shinigami's expression showed mild amusement, as the man's expression darkened again. He pulled the handheld Wii system out of his jacket pocket and dangled it in front of Ryuk.

"Did you do as I asked Ryuk?" He snapped out the sentence a second time, clearly not in the mood for fooling around anymore. He pulled the game system back as the shinigami made a lunging motion towards him, trying to snatch it out of his grasp.

"FINE! Yes they got the note! Yes they are willing to try! Now can I have the game?" The young man snickered at the shinigami's expression as he handed over the game.

"Sure Ryuk. What was Matsuda-san's reaction to everything, did he appreciate my note?" Ryuk rolled his eyes as he answered.

"I still don't understand why you are so interested in that lame guy." The young man gave an odd little giggling sound as stared levelly at both shinigami.

"My reasons are mine and mine alone..." Almost as an afterthought the young man muttered quietly, "He's an interesting specimen is all." The young man started giggling quietly to himself. The other shinigami looked oddly at both Ryuk and the young man as Ryuk burst into raucous laughter, his laughter mingling with the young man's giggles. After both of their laughter had subsided, Ryuk muttered quietly.

"You really are one weird bastard, aren't you Akinori." The young man, Akinori, gave a bright grin and gave an odd jerking little half bow.

"As you wish to call me Ryuk, so shall I be! I am ever your and Kira-sama's servant." His voice had a light mocking lilt to it as he whirled around in an uncomfortable twirling motion. His manic energy suddenly faded, and he sagged onto his bed. "Shut up Ryuk. I'm going to sleep." He curled up into a ball, his entire demeanor morose. Within a few minutes he was in a restless sleep.

* * *

"So what information do we have so far?" Aizawa rubbed his eyes in frustration as the time ticked steadily forwards.

_Inching closer and closer to the finish line. Tick. Tick. Tick._

"We've established a vague timeline of events. On 13:49:28 Amane Misa climbed to the top of the bridge. At 13:50:15 she fell to her death. At 14:15 Mogi and Matsuda arrived at the scene." Yamamoto squinted at the paper, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Ide I can't read this next line." Ide rolled his eyes and grabbed the paper out of Yamamoto's hands. He cleared his throat and began reading.

"At 20:33 Z-Kira called Matsuda's cellphone. They spoke for approximately seven and a half minutes. At 21:13 wanted criminal Midori Arashi delivered the notice to you, Deputy Director Aizawa. At 21:15 Matsuda showed up at my place. We called you at 21:35 and you showed up at 22:00." That is all that has been established firmly so far."

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

* * *

So that's all I have for now. I'm sorry about bringing in the other shinigami, but Ryuk said it best in the anime when he told Light that even without the wings and eyes, he already made a worthy shinigami. Also the God's of Death are forbidden from sexual activities, so it is never canonically established how they reproduce. It is established that they can die so it stands to reason that there would have to be new lifeblood brought into the shinigami 'gene pool' so to speak. I figure the King is like their God so he can grant the shinigami powers to whomever he likes, as long as they fulfill certain criteria. I hope you aren't too disappointed with this chapter, but I did my best. If there is a massive hatred for this chapter then I will take it down and rework it.

On another point, does anyone like Z-Kira? Cause he is frickin' tiring to write. Anyway please review and Imma try and get the next chapter up as quickly as I can.

Thanks.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Sorry for taking so long. I've been busy, and have had a terrible case of writer's block. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter. I hope the next one won't take quite so long.

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_ Who don't own Death Note? I don't! Yaay!

* * *

_**Previously on Broken: A Death Note fanfiction:  
**__"At 20:33 Z-Kira called Matsuda's cellphone. They spoke for approximately seven and a half minutes. At 21:13 wanted criminal Midori Arashi delivered the notice to you, Deputy Director Aizawa. At 21:15 Matsuda showed up at my place. We called you at 21:35 and you showed up at 22:00." That is all that has been established firmly so far."_

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

The plum colored sky deepened to a velvety shade of black, the reflective light of passing cars casting strange shadows on the walls of Ide's apartment. The men had been sitting in silence for hours, completely focused on poring over their notes from the current Kira case and the previous one.

'_Beep-beep-beep-beep!'_ The insistent ringing of an alarm clock was the first thing to pull Matsuda out of his sleep-induced stupor. He sat bolt upright looking around the room for the source of the noise. For just a moment the room seemed to spin as his equilibrium re-established itself. His eyes snapped shut instantly, trying to head off the dizziness at the pass. He gagged for a moment, the terrible feeling of nausea spreading through his body quickly and then receding almost as quickly as it had begun. He chanced opening his eyes again, albeit much more slowly. He took in the others all in various states of sleep: Ide curled up into a ball on his chair, much like the cat which was sleeping on the arm of the chair, Mogi sitting bolt upright with his eyes closed, Aizawa leaning on his hand, even Yamamoto laying half off Ide's couch, his shoulders pressed flat against the floor.

'When did we fall asleep?' he wondered, reaching for his cell phone which sitting on the coffee table in front of him. As he picked up his cell phone, a quick flash of movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. His head snapped around and his eyes widened in horror as he recognized the face peeking in the window. Details flashed through his mind as he struggled with the reality of what he was seeing.

* * *

_An angular face. _

_Soft, chestnut hair falling in perfect disorder across a forehead. _

_Shrewd eyes that were brimming with both intelligence and secrets (though the secrets were well hidden)._

* * *

A croak escaped his throat as he pressed back into the couch, trying to make himself as small as possible. Desperately willing whichever deity would deign to listen to his prayers, to grant him invisibility. He squeaked as the specter of Light Yagami opened the window and floated through, regarding him with cold eyes. The specter floated closer and reached out with its hand, pointing at Matsuda. Matsuda's hands leapt to his throat and he choked on his fear. A warm liquid trickled down his wrist drawing his attention to his hands, his hands, which were still sticky with Light's drying blood. A heavy weight sitting in Matsuda's lap, completing the nightmarish scene was the pistol with which he'd shot Light. Matsuda grasped blindly at the pistol, swinging it wildly around the room. His eyes were wild as he took aim at a shadow, which burst out of the corner of the room, running at him with fiendish speed.

Suddenly soft hands were grabbing him round the wrists and holding him with an inhuman strength. He broke his gaze away from Light and met the furious mien of Yagami Sayu. Her face was contorted into a snarl and a low growl issued from her throat. He fought against her grasp and found it to be as useless as punching a brick building. There was absolutely no give in her grip and her eyes were hard. A soft chuckle issued from the specter of Light, gradually growing in volume to a deafening roar. The familiar hysterical chuckle of a madman, which had stalked Matsuda's nightmares ever since the debacle at the Yellow Box Warehouse was quickly consuming his very existence. The only thing he was aware of besides those horribly hard brown eyes. Those eyes, which had him, trapped like a snake traps its prey. Matsuda with the pistol shaking allowed Sayu to guide his hand to where it needed to rest. The barrel of the gun rested against his temple, the cold steel leaving a tiny indentation in his skull. He closed his eyes as he felt her finger slide around the trigger-

* * *

Matsuda startled awake with a whimper dying in his throat. His wide eyes took in all the details of the room, confirming that what had just happened was nothing but a dream. A scraping sound at the window captured his awareness, making him jump as a shadow loomed in the window's frame. His eyes impossibly got wider as Ryuk slid open the window, and entered the apartment. He croaked, trying to wake the others, though his voice was barely audible. Ryuk floated through the apartment as if he owned the place, drifting into the kitchen, his mutterings barely audible. Finally after a few seconds, Ryuk stuck his head out of the kitchen and called out to Matsuda.  
"Hey Matsuda, does Ide have any apples?" Matsuda stared at Ryuk in disbelief for several beats, before turning to Ide and shaking him awake.

"Ide," he said softly. "Ryuk wants to know if you have any apples?" His tone was surprisingly blasé for the tumultuous emotions he was feeling under the surface. Ide brushed his hand away from his shoulder.

"Nngh…" Matsuda looked at Ryuk and smiled nervously.

"Guess not Ryuk." The expression in his eyes grew horrified as Ryuk began twisting himself up into knots.

"But I neeeed apples! If I don't have them I'll esplode. That happens to me sometimes!" The shinigami's voiced was pitched several octaves higher than it normally was, a painful whining shriek. Matsuda sighed heavily. He was very familiar with that particular quote as his fourteen-year old niece was a huge fan of that particular cartoon.

"You like _Invader Zim _now Ryuk?" Ryuk's only answer was to let out a low growl.

"AAAAPPPPPLLLLLEEEEEESSSSSS!" Matsuda was silent for several seconds weighing his options. When he arrived at a conclusion Matsuda grabbed his wallet and jumped up.

"Let's go Ryuk." He slipped out of the apartment, heading down to the corner market.

* * *

The air was fresh and crisp, unusually cold for February, but not outside the realm of possibilities. Matsuda walked, his shoulders a little squarer and his manner a bit stronger than it was when his friends surrounded him. It was a subtle change, clearly he was unconscious of it, but it still showed up in his mannerisms and in the way his eyes took in the world around him. Guarded eyes tracked the cars that were leading the pack of rush hour drivers, and the harried businesspeople and students who cluttered up the streets. Following behind him, an intimidating specter, Ryuk kept up a near constant stream of chatter. Most of the chatter was nonsensical and Matsuda did his best to block out the distracting white noise, trying to determine if there was any subtext to what Ryuk was saying, like there had been before.

_So damn many times before._

The two of them arrived at a small 24-hour shop and Matsuda muttered to Ryuk at the entrance. "Stay out here. I'll bring you the apples and you can eat back at Ide's place." His expression was overly fierce as he glared at the shinigami, garnering odd looks from a few passersby. Matsuda realized what he'd been doing and quickly moved to finish his business. The tinny bell signaled his entrance as he walked in through the front door and was assailed with the scent of freshly brewed coffee. He glanced at his watch, checking the time.

'_The others will be up soon. Might as well pick up breakfast for them.'_ Matsuda walked quickly through the store, picking up some packs of bread, a bag of apples, and then paused at the coffee counter. He pulled out five cups and filled them, doctoring the coffees quickly and hurrying up to the cash register. He joined a small queue, and waited patiently. His eyes quickly focused in on the tabloid news-rag that was positioned to the left of the counter. His eyes widened in shock as he read the headline.

_Our Lord Kira returns – the faithful recount his miraculous return!_

When the people ahead of him had cleared out of the store, he grabbed the magazine and approached the counter. He slid everything onto the counter and waited as the bored-looking cashier scanned everything.

"That'll be 1458 yen* sir," Matsuda pulled out his bankcard and swiped it through the small machine. As his receipt printed out, the cashier glanced at the name and gave a surprised laugh.

"Matsuda Touta-san? Wow, I haven't seen you since high school! How have you been doing? What have you been up to?" The girl gave a wide, infectious grin and her identity clicked in Matsuda's head.

"Suzu Kaoru-san! It's been a while. I've been fine I work for the NPA now. Yourself?"

"I've been fine! I went to K-University and now I run this shop, but wow, you work for the Police Force! That's so amazing!" Matsuda heard a person slip behind him in line and he tensed subtly, his slight feeling of unease growing. Kaoru continued on, oblivious to his tension. "We should go out drinking Matsuda-san, catch up. Here's my number, call me anytime!" The person behind him in line's foot began tapping in annoyance. Matsuda's hand reached out of it's own accord, took the slip of paper from Kaoru and grabbed the bag. He inclined his shoulders in a slight bow and said politely.

"Thank you for your excellent service. I will call you sometime Kaoru-chan." He turned and left the store, barely sparing a glance at the young man who was in line behind him. The boy wore an expression of utter loathing in his cold grey eyes, as their gazes met briefly. Matsuda looked at the boy strangely, taking in his young "punk" appearance, the curly blonde hair, disheveled appearance, and overall fuck-the-world attitude.

* * *

Matsuda let out a breath of air he hadn't even realized he'd been holding when he exited the store. Matsuda paused, waiting for Ryuk to appear beside him, or otherwise acknowledge his presence. Out of nowhere, a breath was expelled right next to his ear, making him startle slightly.

"FINALLY!" Ryuk bellowed next to his ear, his face contorted into an odd parody of sexual completion. He made a grab for the bag. Matsuda held the bag out of reach and snapped quietly, trying not to attract attention,

"I said you could eat when we got back to Ide's apartment."

Unnoticed by Matsuda, the young man from the convenience store followed behind him, his expression not dissimilar to a stalking panther. Trailing in the air behind him was the silent shinigami, his expression as morose as it always was. A smile that could only be described as twisted flickered into existence on the young man's face as he watched Matsuda interacting with Ryuk.

* * *

Matsuda entered the apartment to startled looks and an awed look of shock from Yamamoto. He smiled widely, attempting to diffuse some of the growing tension.

"Guess who showed up last night?" He set the coffee cups on the table along with the bag of bread and pulled out one of the apples, tossing it at Ryuk. The shinigami made a squeal of delight and caught the apple, floating away.

"So that's a shinigami?" Yamamoto asked, his voice thin. He took a bracing sip of coffee.

"Yep. That's Ryuk. He let himself in this morning. He and I went to get breakfast for everyone." Matsuda pulled out a chocolate bun and started eating it while he waited for the others to begin speaking.

* * *

*approximately $18 U.S.D. and some change

Thank you for bearing with me through this chapter. Good bye and please review.


End file.
